Florida Governor Rick Scott Says Internet Cafes Should Be Illegal

In the Jacksonville, Florida area, we have noticed more and more businesses, known as internet cafes, pop up around Jacksonville, Florida. While I have never actually visited one of the locations, I was curious as to exactly what kind of businesses they were, particularly because the one closest to the Law Office of Lasnetski Gihon Law has tinted windows and a security guard outside. Usually, tinted windows and security guards mean adult movies/accessories or gambling.

We noticed a recent article that reported Florida Governor Rick Scott said these internet cafes should be illegal. Apparently, Governor Scott recently spoke about them with reporters. He noted there are loopholes in the law which allow them to exist throughout Florida. He indicated more than 1,000 of the internet cafes have opened in Florida since 2006. The internet cafes offer electronic sweepstakes games that are legal under current Florida law.

In response to this issue, it appears the government wants to legislate how people spend their time and money and increase its authority. There are currently two proposed laws moving through the Florida legislature that would ban internet cafes in Florida. The proposed law that would ban internet cafes appears likely to pass in the House, although the Senate is taking a more job-friendly approach and looking to regulate the internet cafes and force them to pay a fee to operate.

Supporters of the internet cafes note that they provide thousands of jobs in Florida and it is hypocritical for the Florida government to ban some forms of gaming when it allows, even encourages, other blatant forms of gambling.